A little over a decade ago, in the final days of Bill Bixby's life when he on the cover of many tabloids and weeklies ("Bill's Heroic Battle Against Cancer!"), I was standing in in line at the supermarket behind a woman and her young daughter. The mother pointed to Bixby's picture on one of the magazines and said "Do you see that man? When I was a your age I had the biggest crush on him. He was on a show called The Courtship Eddie's Father, and couldn't wait to grow up and marry him."

Although I don't make a habit of talking to strangers in the grocery store, I couldn't resist saying, "It's probably best you didn't -- he had one heck of a temper. You wouldn't have liked him when he was angry."

To which the woman deadpanned: "That's not the Bill I loved."

(I was reminded of this story by a recent discussion on "TV Crushes" at a site I frequent. For the record, the earliest crush I recall having was on Caroline Ellis, who played Joy on The Bugaloos. I distinctly remember my eight year-old heart racing whenever I watched the show.)

I was thinking it was Ali McGraw (from the Winds of War miniseries ... I never saw Love Story), until out of nowhere I was reminded of a harrowing incident in the second grade when I told my best friend that I thought Snow White (yes, the animated cartoon character) was "kinda cute." He told my entire second grade class and I resumed a normal emotional life in college.

MacGyver, the perfect guy. He's extremely intellegent, dry sense of humor, thinks fast on his feet, is cool under pressure, cute, and looks good with his shirt off. And he likes hockey.

I used to have a crush on Starbuck from the old Battlestar Galactica series. Someone told me that they brought the series back on Sci-Fi and the character is now played by a woman. Heresy!! Blasphemy!! No wonder I got rid of my cable...

Posted by: C. on January 28, 2005 4:59 PM

Speaking of Capt. Krik, did you ever notice that facial hair in Star Trek = villainy? All of the Klingons had those terrible Ming-the-Merciless-style mustaches. All those Prime-Directive-fearing Vulcans were clean shaven.

Remember that one episode when Krik went into this strange parallel universe, and the evil Krik had this sinister device that could disintegrate people? ("Oh. Right," you say. "*That* one.") You could spot the evil Mr. Spock in that episode thanks to his stylish goatee.

Man, I would have loved to be a special effects guy on that series. It always seemed so thrown together at the last minute.

"We need an alien race, here, people! Okay, you -- tear a sleeve off that shirt, and give this guy big eyebrows. There -- totally believable!"

That said, it remains vastly better than Deep Space Nine.

"No, no -- the Bajorans have *two* nose ridges. The Slabardians have *three*."

Yeah, Starbuck - that was his name. I loved him in a totally inappropriate way for an 8-year-old. And at the same time, I had a nice chaste love for the kid in Battlestar Gallactica, the one with the pet robotic mutt. What was his name?

my high school didn't allow facial hair. the only explanation i ever heard was that they didn't want the younger guys who couldn't grow a mustache to feel insecure. that never washed with me, but maybe we've uncovered the real reason.

I always preferred Picard to Kirk, and Riker to either.

Posted by: kitty on January 30, 2005 4:05 PM

Don't leave us hanging -- did you challenge the system by growing a moustache?

Karen Allen, Raiders of the Lost Ark; Jennifer Connelly, Labyrinth. Not sure which one was first.

Posted by: Jimbo on February 1, 2005 9:04 AM

My first TV crush, swear-to-dog, was Speed Racer (www.speedracer.com), the badly-animated driver of the Mach 5. OH, those dreamy anime eyes! I had even scrawled on a notebook "I love Speed" and then helpfully noted in my six-year-old scrawl "(cartoon caricter)" underneath. Likely my hippee parentage led me to be preternaturally aware that the first phrase alone might lead to some raised eyebrows.

Jennifer Connelly, Labyrinth . . . .my what a change by the time she appeared in the Rocketeer! Yoiks!

Posted by: cedrictheblack on February 3, 2005 7:01 AM

And then there was Anne from the "Anne of Green Gables" PBS series. Must have been the red hair. And, in a similar vein and, for that matter, look, there was Capt. Stuebing's daughter from "The Love Boat." I think that maybe they just looked a little bit more approachable than, say, Farrah Fawcett.